


Promises (A Catradora One-Shot)

by space_sushi



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Catradora angst, F/F, Pre-S5, They're sad, Uhhh lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 17:07:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20585999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/space_sushi/pseuds/space_sushi
Summary: It's sad boi hours up in this bitch, and Catra has finally decided to push through all of the pain Adora left her with.





	Promises (A Catradora One-Shot)

~“Criss-cross on it!”  
“What?”  
“Criss-cross on it that you’ll never leave me, Adora!”  
“I don’t need to criss-cross on it, Catra! You know I’d never leave you!”~

Catra jolted from her bed. Her name on Adora’s lips felt all too real. The nightmares-- no, memories-- were frequent and taxing. Catra knew that she couldn’t continue on like this, with moments from her childhood echoing in her brain, reminding her of every promise Adora ever broke.  
“Adora, Adora, Adora!” Catra yelled, swiping a claw at her blanket, tearing the blue fabric. It was all too much. Catra let tears fall from her face.  
The word “weak” ran through her head, and glimpses of the masked face of Shadow Weaver blinked in and out of focus behind her eyes. Catra shook her head violently. Wiping her eyes, she stood from her bed and made her way down to Entrapta’s lab.  
“Catra! Hi!” The princess was hanging from the ceiling, dangling ten feet off the ground. She dropped to the floor, her tool belt shaking as she landed.  
“Yeah, hi. I need you to do something for me.”  
“Will do, Boss Catra!” Entrapta chuckled. “You like that one? I need to figure out a good leader name for you.”  
“Sure, whatever. I just need you to transmit a message.”  
Entrapta jumped backwards into a chair, then rolled herself to the large computer across the lab by pulling herself with her hair. She clicked a few buttons on the keyboard. “Who are we talking to?”  
“Adora.”  
Entrapta turned to Catra. “Adora? Why?”  
“Um… Horde… stuff. Doesn’t matter.”  
“Okay… Say your message into this microphone here.”  
Catra crossed her arms. “Adora, this is Catra. Obviously. Um, just, meet me in Thaymor. At the waterfall. Don’t bring anyone else, not even the sword. This is… a peaceful exchange.” She leaned away from the microphone and looked at Entrapta.  
Entrapta clicked a few more buttons, then nodded. “Alright, it’s sent.”  
“How long will it take?” Catra was already restless. She couldn’t wait much longer.  
“For it to get there or the response?”  
“Um, both I guess.”  
“Well, with this tech it sends almost instantaneously. The response time is up to Adora. Maybe now, maybe never.”  
Catra clenched her jaw, but didn’t respond. She simply stared up at the screen. “You know what?” she asked after what felt like an eternity. “I’m not waiting here. I’ll go to Thaymor, and if she doesn’t come, she doesn’t come.” Catra surprised herself with her lack of anger, despite the fact it had been building inside her since Adora left. She wondered if she’d be able to be this calm when-- scratch that-- if Adora showed up.  
“Alrighty! See you later!” Entrapta’s hair shot to the ceiling, and she raised herself high into the air, swinging onto her robot.  
Catra mumbled a goodbye, then went to the landing bay. She took a key from one of the soldiers, and got into one of the red hovercrafts. One of the bay doors opened, and Catra drove through the Fright Zone, past the Whispering Woods, and into the outskirts of Thaymor. She left the ship a ways away, why exactly she didn’t know, but probably to assure herself she couldn’t run away before she had the chance to talk to Adora.  
The sun was setting, and the sky was a fiery red. Compared to the Fright Zone, the rest of Etheria was stunning. Catra had lived in the Fright Zone all her life, and until Adora had defected from the Horde, she’d never seen anything quite like the Etherian sky at night, with all of its shimmering stars and glowing moons. She’d also never seen blooming flowers of every color growing in valleys farther than the eye could see, or trees that seem like they touch the sky. But she’d also never felt pain quite like what she felt when Adora left. She’d never cried for hours on end, or felt like she couldn’t get out of bed, or wanted to claw out the eyes of every person in sight.  
Catra sat on a large rock, listening to the waterfall thunder below her. She scanned the treeline, watching for any sign of Adora. She’d steeled herself for the moment she saw her.  
Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked. The second Catra saw Adora appear from the woods, she crumbled. All resolve she had was gone. She’d told herself over and over again that this was a peaceful meeting, diplomatic, friendly. Apparently, it had subconsciously let her break down every wall she’d ever put up.  
Catra choked down a sob as Adora walked towards her. She had no weapons, no allies with her. But she looked angry. There was no kindness in her face, nothing that Catra remembered about her old friend.  
“What do you want, Catra?” Adora snapped. Catra’s lip quivered as she held back tears, which caused Adora’s face to fall. “Catra, are you- Are you okay?”  
“God, Adora! How stupid are you? Of course I’m not okay!” Catra’s voice cracked. “You left me!”  
Adora’s bluebell eyes shimmered with worry, but she collected herself. Catra knew Adora wouldn’t let her guard down so easily, even if Catra had. “We’ve been over this, Catra. I couldn’t stay there and fight battles for a cause I don’t believe in.”  
“That doesn’t matter! I could tell them you didn’t want to fight! I’m a Force Captain! They’d listen to me!”  
“You know that’s not true.”  
“How? How could I? You never tried! We never tried!”  
“We never tried because we both knew it wouldn’t work. In less than a day I saw how terrible the Horde was. In less than a week I was leading the rebellion. How would that work in the Fright Zone? In there, no one has worth. Not unless you’re useful to Hordak. And even if I had gone back with you that day, or even not gone out at all, it would only be a matter of time. It’s obvious how bad the Horde is.”  
“It wasn’t obvious when you were in it! Your skull was so thick and all you could see was the path Shadow Weaver laid out for you! And now you’re some shiny princess, and you have new friends, and there’s nothing I can do but watch as they drag you away from me.”  
“They’re not dragging me away! You’re pushing me out!”  
“Because you left, Adora! There are so many promises you made, and so many you didn’t keep. What happened to ‘best friends no matter what?’ What happened to ‘together forever?’ What happened…” Catra choked, but continued. “What happened to ‘I love you,’ Adora? You’ve got new friends. Sparkles and the archer boy? They’re your new besties, huh? Did you promise ‘together forever’ to them, too?” Catra shook, lowering her head and pressing her lips together. “Do you… Do you love her?”  
Shock flashed across Adora’s face. “Catra,” she said, stepping closer to the girl and reaching out, flinching away at the last minute instead of comforting her. She took a shaky breath. “Catra, that promise of I love you? I never broke it. Listen to me. I love you, Catra. I’ll never love anyone the same way I love you.”  
Catra’s head snapped up suddenly, and Adora took a quick step back. “You love me? You love me? If you love me, act like it! If you loved me, you wouldn’t have left! If you loved me, I wouldn’t sleep alone every night, silently hating myself. You’d do a lot of things if you still loved me, but you don’t.”  
Adora clenched her fists. “Catra, if I didn’t love you, would I be here? With no weapons, no backup? Only with my trust that you wouldn’t hurt me? If I didn’t love you, would I single you out in every fight? Would I make sure no one could hurt you like I know we hurt each other? Like I know I hurt you? If I didn’t love you, would I hate myself for letting you feel like this? The answer is no. No. A thousand times no. Catra, if I didn’t love you,” Adora paused, stepping close to Catra. She could feel Adora’s warm breath on her face, her body so close to her’s. Catra’s breath hitched. “Would I do this?” Adora whispered, barely audible over the sound of Catra’s heart pounding in her ears.  
Adora leaned forward slightly, just enough to place her lips on Catra’s. It felt like it always had, like a bomb going off in Catra’s chest, like an unspoken promise, like a heroic sacrifice. Only this time, it felt like everything Catra missed: Her best friend, the love of her life, the safety of Adora’s arms, the uncomplicated love they used to have. Catra pressed into Adora, kissing her harder, desperate to have this as long as she possibly could. She knew once she pulled away she would have to make a choice. So she didn’t pull away. She kept her lips on Adora for as long as she could. And she felt it. Adora still loved her.


End file.
